Grand Galloping Conspiracy
by Zerila
Summary: Behind the scenes at the Grand Galloping Gala. What kind of plot is being hatched by these shadowy figures?


It was the morning before the Gala when the messenger showed up with a summons from The Boss. With a sigh, he delicately placed the woodworking tool he had been holding in his mouth onto the work table and shook the dust from his mane. Once he had tidied himself up, he left at a quick trot. One did not keep The Boss waiting.

It was a fine morning, clear-skied and slightly chill, but with the promise of plenty of sunlight to warm the ground later on. He made his way through the back roads and alleyways of the great city of Canterlot, with the occasional casual glance behind him to make sure he wasn't followed. He finally arrived at the address the message had specified, a safehouse in an unregarded back alleyway.

One last glance around, and he let himself in. The Boss was already there, anonymously hooded and cloaked, and lurking in the shadows.

"Ah, Agent One! You've come at last, my most loyal servant."

"Actually, Boss," he drawled, "if'n you don' mind, I was thinkin' of changin' that to Agent X. It's more mysterious that way, y'see."

The hooded figure chuckled. "Agent X it is, then. I have a task for you tonight. At the castle."

"Tonight?" Agent X considered for a moment. When he spoke again, the comical drawl he used earlier wasn't in evidence. "Tonight is the Grand Galloping Gala. Every pony of any influence whatsoever will be there. Security will be tight…"

"Nothing you can't handle, I hope?"

"No, Boss. I can get in. What do you need me to do?"

"I have plans for tonight, and already I have wheels set in motion. Things can't go on like this any longer! I will NOT allow it! It will be your job to… help things along"

"I understand," he said.

"No, I don't think you do." Unicorn magic flared briefly, and a thick bundle of folders raised off of the floor. One specific folder slid out of the pack, and made its way over to Agent X.

"This is your target for tonight," the Boss intoned. "Get to know her well. She's the one stumbling block, the only one that can stop my plans from going forward."

"I see." Agent X said. "A pegasus pony. Sweet-natured. Good with animals. Very much a peacemaker. Hmm… " He read through the personality profile, and a thought sparked in his devious little mind.

"Well?" his hooded employer asked after a few minutes had rolled by. "Can you make sure she's not a factor? I will NOT have her interfering with my plans for tonight."

"I could, sure. But… I don't think I'll like doing it."

"Is this a problem for you?"

"She's the same age my daughter would be."

He looked up and met his employer's eye.

"Will this be worth it?" he asked.

"Yes. You have my word on that."

Another pause, and then he said, "All right. I'll do it."

"Very well." The hooded figure stood, and there was another glow of magic, growing in intensity. "You have my utmost trust. I leave the details to you."

There was a flash of light, and The Boss was gone.

Agent X turned back to the folder, looking again through the personality profile. It would be difficult. It would be tricky. But… even this sweet natured pony could be used for chaos.

At that thought, even as jaded and cynical as he was, Agent X felt a pang of remorse for what he would have to do.

"A job's a job," he said to the picture attached to the folder. "And orders is orders. It's nothing personal… Fluttershy."

It was late afternoon. Agent X had spend most of the day so far making plans, and purchasing the items he would need, which he then carefully smuggled into the castle.

There was a frantic scrambling all over the castle as the pony workers frantically tried to get all the decorations and refreshments set up before the first guests arrived. Agent X managed to blend in with the confusion, trying to make his way casually to the gardens. The trick to getting away with something, he thought to himself, was to act like you have every right to be doing what you're doing. Nopony is going to stop someone who looks busy on a day like this, even if they're carrying a large burlap sack over his back.

Before he could make it back to the gardens, however, he saw Princess Celestia herself overseeing the preparations. She stood tall and glowing amidst all the smaller ponies. For a brief moment, it seemed as if she was staring right at him. He froze, looking back at her… but then her gaze, uninterested, swept past him, and she trotted on, relaying instructions in a calm voice which every pony in the room scrambled to obey.

Giving his head a shake, Agent X made it out to the gardens. He pulled out his disguise, a battered hat and a ragged saddle blanket. Those would be part of his disguise as a lowly grounds worker. He pulled some gardening implements out of the bag, and then finally, a large whistle. He trotted around until he saw a small group of rabbits nibbling on the grass.

The shopkeeper who sold him the whistle had guaranteed that it would have the results he had asked for. Now was the time to test it. He puffed briefly through it, and watched the results.

Excellent. The shopkeeper had been telling the truth.

It was still a few hours before the official start of the Gala. Agent X found himself a nice cozy spot in the garden, and settled down to wait for his prey. He tried to review his plan, but his eyelids felt so heavy...

When the fireworks woke him, it was already twilight. Agent X shook himself irritably. He was getting old. Falling asleep on the job. He never would have done that, even five years ago. It was disgusting.

Standing, he stretched and yawned, flinching as he heard his joints pop and settle. Getting old was no life for a pony of action. Maybe he should retire. Finish that boat he was building, and take up the life of fishing and relaxation.

As he was considering this, he saw her in the distance. His target, an adorable yellow filly with a pink mane and tail, wearing a lovely green dress. Again, regret spiked in him, as he contemplated what he had to do.

Oh well, he thought. Nothing for it. You don't disobey The Boss.

Phase one of his plan was to lure her in. He saw her staring in fascination at a meadowlark. Hmm… How did a meadowlark's call go? Oh yes…

Pursing his lips, he whistled out a perfect replication of the meadowlark's call. Excitement sparked in Fluttershy's eyes, and she sang back to him, looking all the while for the meadowlark. Slowly, being careful to keep hidden, he crept backwards towards the center of the gardens, repeating the meadowlark's call every once in a while. Fluttershy followed, still singing back.

Such a sweet thing, he thought. A pity I have to break her.

When he reached the center of the gardens, he picked up the rake he had left there and leaned on in nonchalantly. Then he waited. After a moment, an exited Fluttershy came around the corner… and stopped in shock when she saw him.

Leaning on the rake, he gave another meadowlark's call.

"Oh!" Fluttershy said, abashed and confused, "was that you?"

Agent X grinned. "Yup!" he replied, using the drawl he affected to trick people into not noticing his razor sharp intellect. "I _love_ to whistle while I work!"

At that, he started whistling again and pretended to rake some more.

The flustered Fluttershy mumbled out a quick "excuse me" and slunk off. Agent X dropped the rake and shadowed her. He had to be silent, stealthy. She couldn't know he was here.

The abashed look on his quarry's face was erased the moment she came into the clearing and saw all the frolicking animals. With a gasp of surprise, she started to name off the animals she saw under her breath, and then rushed forward joyously to greet them.

The whistle already in his mouth, Agent X gave a short, sharp burst. The animals, hearing a sound outside the range of pony hearing, took off in alarm.

"Oh, Fluttershy, you're such a loudmouth…" the soft-spoken pony said to herself.

Agent X grinned without humor. The night was just beginning.

What followed was over an hour of carefully arranged frustration. Animals that, ordinarily, thrived on the attention of Celestia's guests grew timid and would run away whenever Fluttershy came near.

After a while, he didn't even need the whistle anymore. They would run as soon as they saw the pony come around the corner.

Fluttershy grew more and more frazzled as the night went on. The lovely dress was torn on branches, ripped by thorns, scuffed and stained by dirt and plants. Threads were dangling as the hem started to unravel almost as quickly as Fluttershy's patience. Agent X spurred things along when he could, even having the audacity to eat the carrot out of a live trap that Fluttershy had set up in the extremes of desperation.

She even managed to trap herself once in a net trap that she had set up to try to catch an animal, ANY animal, so that she could shower it with affection. Agent X remembered reading in her profile that her fascination for animals bordered on "obsessive". That, he decided, was an something of an understatement.

It was after she had managed to free herself from her own trap that Agent X saw that he no longer needed to goad Fluttershy any further. She lost all semblance of control, scrambling around and chasing whatever animals she saw. At one point, she even started stomping on the ground in frustration, screaming "Come _out_!"

Agent X, watching from his concealment in a shrubbery, shook his head in stunned awe. He was expecting a reaction, sure… but not _this_.

Finally, the madly galloping pony had managed to corner a large number of the animals in a clearing. She advanced on them slowly, as they huddled together in fear. Her once graceful, beautiful dress was a ruin. One of her shoes was missing. Her mane was a bird's nest, almost literally, with twigs and grasses woven through it haphazardly. She looked, frankly, like a madpony.

A low voice that he barely recognized as hers grated out as she advanced inexorably towards the huddled animals.

"You.. All of you… I have… SO much love to give. I want… to LOVE you all!" She stopped, and stared at the huddled fuzzy creatures for a moment.

Rejection was a completely foreign emotion to Fluttershy. She was hurt, confused, frustrated and angry. The pain she felt burst out of her in a scream of raw emotion.

"WHY WON'T YOU LET ME LOVE YOU?"

That was it. It was all the animals could handle. They broke and fled straight for the castle ballroom. Fluttershy, growling low in her throat, ran after them. The sheer terrified frenzy of the animal swarm battered the door down, and the panicked animals flooded into the ballroom. Fluttershy, panting, stopped in the doorway and stared after them.

She took another deep breath and screamed:

"You're going to LOVE ME!"

It was several hours later. The guests had gone home. The ballroom was a complete disaster. Somehow, all the marble columns, as well as one of the statues, had gotten knocked over and destroyed. Agent X, resting on a balcony overlooking the garden, wondered if the animals had done that, or if something else had happened.

As he looked down at the garden, he chewed on a stalk of grass. He was watching with some small amusement as frustrated castle staff tried to guide traumatized bunnies and other assorted fuzzy and feathery critters back into the gardens.

A shadow fell over him. He looked back, and saw that The Boss come up behind him.

"Well, it's done. I hope it was worth it," he said.

"It was. This needed to happen."

"I don't feel good about my part of it. Fluttershy is a sweet and sensitive girl, she didn't deserve that."

"I know. She didn't deserve it at all. But she also learned something about herself today. It will make her a better pony in the future, I think."

Agent X sighed and dropped the stalk of grass over the railing, watching it float gently down.

"And that was your plan, was it?" he asked. "Or was there something more?"

"The plan? No. That wasn't the plan. The plan was to _not_ go crazy with boredom this year. My plan was to introduce a little chaos into an otherwise mind-numbingly dull party. My plan… was to have some _fun_ for a change."

Agent X looked back at her and considered for a moment.

"And how did that work out for ya?"

In response, Princess Celestia simply laughed and laughed.


End file.
